About Me

Saturday, April 6, 2013

Uni Posca Paint Pens

I thought I was becoming a Molotow one4all addict but I am in love with Uni Posca Paint Pens. They perform as well as Molotow and Sharpie water-based pens. They are reasonably priced. And they come in a large number of colors and in several different sizes. I have all of the larger pens and am eager to get my hands on more of the smaller ones-though I don't really need them to get the look and effects I want. (Except for black and white. Gotta have every black and white pen I can get my hands on. These are pretty great in all sizes.)

What I love about these pens is the ability to work with my fingers to smear the paint. I find myself working very free and even working with both of my hands to get certain effects. I can also use a brush and a little water to spread and blend the paint, though I prefer the effect I get with my hands. If you want to see how cool these pens can be, check out the amazing surfboard artist Drew Brophy. He paints surfboards, motorcycles and helmets, guitars, skateboards, and more with Uni Posca paint pens. His work is very bright and bold and really speaks to me.

Here is a quick tutorial on how I am using these pens in my art journal. Following Drew's lead, I first make a basic outline with a pencil. Then I begin to fill in the various areas with multiple colors to get shaded effects (i.e. blue, light blue, and white in the flames). I shade the face in the same way shown in my 3-part "shading a face" tutorial on my Youtube channel. (Yup! You can shade a face with these pens. Just add the color a little bit at a time and smear it with your fingers. It works great!) The pens blend really well together and I can get great depth and shading. The last step is outlining in black and adding a few details and highlights with black and white. I also added a little glitter paint to the flames and the eye and lip.

One tip, you'll want to buy multiple black and white pens along with your color selection as you'll use these a lot for blending, outlining, shading, and highlighting. I bought mine at www.durablesupply.com. You can find them in numerous places on the web. I haven't seen them in any art/craft supply stores. Have you?

Have you tried Uni Posca paint pens? I would love to see what you are making with them.

Elvina, thank you for your kind words. I have found that I don't use markers nearly as much as I use paint pens. For markers, I typically use them in the background (grafitti writing that gets added as a textural element).

My markers, sorry to say, are all Sharpies! I have resisted getting into Copics, but need some markers where I just new a few...maybe these might just be the ones! Just watched your YouTube videos on shading faces and found them quite impressive (I have yet to draw my first face!). I remain a big fan, Felicia!

Thanks, Kay. Glad you liked the video tutorials. Do you have the water-based paint pens by Sharpie? Or Sharpie markers. I've never been a fan of the markers but love the paint pens. I just haven't had much luck finding many colors. Once they run out I probably won't replace, will just continue with either Molotow or more likely Uni Posca paint pens.

I have decided these are some of my favorite pens too -- they write on just about anything! I am finding the narrow point ones tend to skip a bit and then leave splatter marks, which isn't always bad, but I have to remember to go more slowly with them. I will try your finger blending technique, thanks for the idea! Thanks too for the other source -- I got mine @ Jetpens.com and didn't know there was another place to get them!

Rhonda, the fact that narrow ones skip and leave splatter is why I love those little guys. I like the effect they give. But you are right, if you go slow, not an issue. The big ones are my fave though. I'm hopeful to get the medium and small ones in the near future but don't know how often I'll use them. At least now I can do some comparison shopping with jetpens.com Thanks for the tip!

I only use paint pens when I'm painting. I do basic character art. I have a series that I've started after being inspired by Drew. The paint pens are great for the style I do. Of course, Uni Poscas are the best! I order primarily through durable supply too. The smearing/blending with fingers is something I've not heard of before, I'd like to give it a try. Thanks!

@Lorenzo, did you give blending with your fingers a try? I would love to know how it's been going for you.

@Jocelyn, I store them on their side in a photo box. when I use them I just fan them out in the box and inside the lid. I give them a good shake before I use them and if they ever feel a little dry just give them a push (rarely need to do this except when I am using them directly on absorbant paper, rather than on another layer of paint). Overall they have held up well for me. I have the majority of the colors in 3 sizes, have used them extensively over the last several months, and have had no problems with them. Please let me know if you find storing them tip up works for you.